Pulmonary artery banding is frequently used to treat infants with congenital heart malformations in whom the malformation results in excessive pulmonary blood flow. In current clinical practice, radiopaque umbilical tape, coated with medical adhesive silicon rubber, is widely used to band and constrict the pulmonary artery to reduce the blood flow. Such a fixed band, however, is not dilatable and therefore does not allow for the increased pulmonary blood flow necessary as the infant grows. As a result, further surgery is often necessary to either enlarge the constricting band or create an aorticopulmonary shunt around the constriction site. It will be appreciated that this additional surgery places a great deal of stress on the infant and correction of the initial defect is often made more difficult.